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To make something very clear – I do not believe in guilt by association, so please keep that in mind as you read this article.

Unless you have sequestered yourself over the last month or so you have heard the media stories about Larry Nassar and his sexual abuse of hundreds (if not thousands) of young girls who were mostly gymnasts both at Michigan State University and through his work with the U. S. Olympic Committee. It is horrifying and, unfortunately, 100% believable.

Nasser was just this week sentenced to 175 years in prison for his crimes and during that sentencing the presiding judge did this: “I’ve just signed your death warrant,” Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said in a Lansing, Michigan, courtroom. “I find that you don’t get it, that you’re a danger. That you remain a danger.”

That almost vindictive statement came on the heels of a letter Nasser wrote to here trying to explain away the situation. In that letter he wrote:

“I was a good doctor because my treatments worked, and those patients that are now speaking out are the same ones that praised and came back over and over,” Nassar wrote. “The media convinced them that everything I did was wrong and bad. They feel I broke their trust. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned. Well, I think every man among us can related to that centuries old saying – but still get sick to our stomachs to hear it used as an excuse for abhorrent and criminal actions.

But this is a Pitt football blog and what does the above have to do with us? Well, taken separately Nasser’s actions, especially his crimes committed against the olympic gymnasts, may not have any connection. But in situations like this you have to look to see what the avenues are where investigations and blame’s bloodletting travel.

One of those led directly to the University’s Athletic Department and then on up to the President of the University herself. This quote from one of the victims at the sentencing hearing’s Victim Impact statements tells us a great deal:

“Sexual abuse is so much more than a disturbing physical act,” Kyle Stephens, the first victim to speak, said last week. “It changes the trajectory of a victim’s life, and that is something that nobody has the right to do.”

But the women also showed remarkable resolve and bravery, staring down Nassar in court and calling out the systems of power that protected him for more than two decades.”

The emphasis there is mine and it shows what is now the big issue to follow – who knew what and when did they know it? Investigations into that have already started with ESPN in the lead and the dominoes are starting to fall with the President of MSU resigning and their Athletic Director doing the same soon after.

Dantonio has already put one foot in his mouth with this statement he gave when asked back in June about these issues: “This is new ground for us,” Dantonio answered. “We’ve been here 11 years — it has not happened previously.”

However this is what ESPN found had actually happened in the time period he referenced:

“Since Dantonio’s tenure began in 2007, at least 16 MSU football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence against women, according to interviews and public records obtained by Outside the Lines. Even more, Dantonio was said to be involved in handling the discipline in at least one of the cases several years ago. “

So is there a tie between MSU from Pitt in these issues? It is pretty clear there is at least one in that our current Head Coach came from there just three years ago. That doesn’t mean Pat Narduzzi was involved in any misdeeds. But there is a connection and you can be sure that any investigations that take place with these MSU wrongdoings, and there are some and more come to light every day, every employee in the athletic is going to be looked at under a bright light.

“Yet former Michigan State sexual assault counselor Lauren Allswede, who left the university in 2015 over frustrations about how administrators handled sexual assault cases, told Outside the Lines that MSU administrators’ entire approach to such cases has been misguided for years. The biggest issue? Complaints involving athletes were routinely investigated and handled by athletic director Hollis’ department, and sometimes even coaches, she says.”

Read this article from ESPN in its entirety to see just exactly what has been happening over the years at MSU. It is rather sickening and shows direct ties to MSU’s football team and program in the years before Narduzzi left MSU and came to Pitt. If you remember Narduzzi was at MSU from 2007 until December of 2014.

There were at least six serious incidents involving football players that took place between 2009 and 2014 and none of the football players involved were suspended or expelled from the team. Also remember that just because an incident didn’t go to court it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. University’s have a moral mandate to investigate and take disciplinary actions separate from the judicial systems.

All this was known way earlier by ESPN, and of course by Dantonio and staff, even if Dantonio told the media “This is new ground for us,” Dantonio answered. “We’ve been here 11 years — it has not happened previously.”

We Pitt fans need to understand that this MSU scandal and all the investigations that will take place – believe me this is just the tip of the iceberg – will keep being in the news media so don’t be surprised when investigators get down into the weeds all the MSU football (and BB) staff employed at the time are going to be mentioned. That means Narduzzi’s name is going to pop up now and then also.

Again, there is no guilt by association in this case so far.

From what I know of Pat Narduzzi, and from his off the field actions he has taken in disciplining his players, I’d be shocked if there was any wrongdoing on his individual part while he was at MSU. Narduzzi certainly has acted the in exact opposite way here at Pitt and has done his job as a leader of the Pitt student/athletes just as I hoped he would.

I have written many times that as a head football coach I think his work outside the white lines has been better than his actual gameday coaching. But I have pretty strict standards when it comes to leadership and he’s met them so far.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that all the problems MSU have, and they are legion, doesn’t affect Pitt in any way, but I’d be remiss if I said it was an impossibility that it might do so.

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Michaelangelo Monteleone (aka MA, MM, Mike...)
Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset then #22 Miami on Thursday night.

Wow, that list was awful. Seriously, I’d prefer to have a bonafide OFFENSIVE LINE Coach from a MAC or American Conference team known to have a good O line. Pittsburgh Sports Now must have gotten that candidate list from lazy Scott Barnes.

We are in the MeToo movement. It’s shoot First and ask questions later. I would like to ask every man on this blog a question. How many times on a date while at Pitt did you try to go farther sexually than your date may have ok’d? How many times did you try?

Something tells me the author of this article hopes something comes out and Pitt fires Narduzzi. He’d like nothing more than to say “Pitt is clean” and changes needed to be made, even if another coaching change put the program behind the 8 ball even more.

Well, first off, it’s good to see the scales of justice in the picture above are still balanced equally but it does look like Ms Justice is peaking from beneath her blindfold. It’s certainly is not a good time for men who were stupid enough to behave so recklessly while in a position of power. Then again there is never a good time for any of the behavior we seem to read about everyday anymore.

Having worked directly under a female judge for 6 years who was also a great friend of mine, I can tell you that the little note Nasser sent to the judge in this case is completely insanity. << Which may have been a planned attempt by Nasser in doing just that. Because only an insane person would have wrote that note to a female judge or any judge for that matter in their self-defense.

Back to PITT. I’ve already read and heard many opinions on this matter and it’s good to see Reed taking a more cautious approach than some others already have. I do have my thoughts on Narduzzi and all but I’ll keep those to myself for the time being. Plenty time to wait for more facts to roll past out eyes and ears. This is not the time to be making predictions like it’s a football game coming up next Saturday. . . .

I would like to see Narduzzi’s past record in disciplining his players as an assistant coach at MSU for starters. He certainly has done a good job of that as Reed said during his short time at PITT so far. . . . ike

Why? It is Dantonio’s program. Narduzzi couldn’t hand out discipline over the head coach.

We have proof Narduzzi is much different than Dantonio when it comes to discipline. Dantonio likely would have let Taleni play as a senior. Narduzzi didn’t like how he was acting and showed him the door.

We have too many fans worried about being compared to PSU. This is MSU’s problem, not a Pitt problem.

Look, I’m not into judging just yet but I believe Narduzi has two index fingers. If he was aware of the coverup then he should beheld accountable. It’s just too early to tell and to what degree. My heart of hearts tells me Narduzzi is a good man and probably had no culpability in the matter… …. of course when I type in narduzzi without capitalizing his name it comes up buzzard. << is that a bad sign? 🙂

My guess is that 90% of the top 50 teams have covered up the very same type of issues.

Hopefully, this public examination will lead to a better understanding that no means no.

I worked at a company where the CEO was accused of sexual harassment multiple times and payoffs were made. The guy was a pig and the board and lawyers covered for him every time. We are hopefully going through a cultural change where this type of behavior is not condoned.

There are times when we all come across something that we don’t need a stick to poke at it. No need to pick it up and feel it or to take a whiff of it or actually go ahead and taste it. For we knew all along it was crap. On the other hand……. Maybe we should wait for someone else to come along and taste this case and let us all know if it’s indeed crap or not…. ike

Yeah, it is going to be bigger than dairy college and is already on its way there. Dairy did do something a little different that I can’t speak to right now that actually gave me some hope for a few of their Administrators, not Board members.

I spent a day with some NCAA leadership folks last week in indy. Interesting conversations.

Heather checks a lot of boxes for MSU.

Obviously some things happen at every university. The issue comes back to what you do about it. You either have morals or you don’t. You are either ethical or you are not. Difficult situations present themselves to people at their weakest time. Did Narduzzi know about this activity and then said, I need to get out asap”? Time will tell friends. Time will tell. We all just need to reserve our judgment until more facts come out.

“In the past two years, California University of Pennsylvania quietly signed a trio of football players who were booted from Division I schools when charged with violent crimes ranging from armed robbery to aggravated assault, a Tribune-Review investigation revealed. ”

There are just hundreds of stories, when you do a search of college football and basketball players arrested for various acts of rape, gang rape, armed robbery, deadly assault and various other acts of criminality.

This all has to play out in time. As to Nard who knows bur one way to look at it is that he saw what happened when discipline was non existence, dantonio job was to administer. Agree with emel. As to OL agree with Erie, sweeny i believe played under the great Joe Moore.

Anon, the real lesson in both the PSU & MSU scandals, and many other things like this, is that it isn’t just enough to kick knowledge of a crime up the chain of command, but to hold those above you accountable if they take no action after learning of crimes committed.

That is the ethical and moral responsibility we all have as adults.

And isn’t that what we held Paterno accountable for? The fact that he told the AD what was reported to him wasn’t enough.

And this is why almost every state has strong ‘whistleblower ‘ protection laws on the books. If any staffer at MSU knew that crimes were being covered up, whether their name is Narduzzi or not, they need to be held accountable also.

Reed, where I agree with you 100% and you bring up psu. Didn’t McQueary report to his superiors? << That could be defined as the end of his responsibility if he felt that the matter would be taken care of. Let’s not jump over the facts as we know them. and this is not anything like the coverup at psu.

Exactly and great point Huff. He wasn’t thrown behind bars, he was rewarded. Point was that if Narduzzi did his due diligence he should be fine. Although, deep down I think McQueary should have done more as well and there is the grey area.

Evil is Evil
If Penn State didnt get the death penalty, nor should these schools. Remember this was reported back to the NCAA like 8 years ago. No investigation.

Penn States cover up went on for more than 20 years
And all these elite schools in small towns cover up players crimes. People get paid off all the time. Sign non-disclosures.

The NCAA creates a culture that allows this to happen. All they care about is money just like these schools. Whatever it takes.

Sad truth is that if a student (non-athlete) would beat a girl, harass, molest or rape a girl, they would most likely go straight to jail. Athletes are protected. They make universities millions and the NCAA billions.

Really – these athletes need to be held to a higher standard. They get a free ride. They represent the school.

These Michigan State coaches were no saints. Just like Joe Pa. Just win, make the university money, protect my legacy.

Speaking about players who commit crimes, I ask myself why do they commit these crimes and the follow-up would be what are these thugs doing in these programs to begin with?

I would love to see the admission testing criteria for all D1 athletes compared to the general student population published for the world to see. Pressure needs to be put on all schools to reform and develop Across the board standards for admission.

I also see the other side of this where administrators and coaches lose their reputations at worst not to mention livelihood by allowing potential problem athletes onto campus.. DW is a good example…

My Dad was the same age as Paterno.. those guys weren’t there to deal with the garbage that has permeated sports..I often wonder what my Dad would have reacted if he was in Paterno’s shoes – probably would have knocked the snot outta Sandusky.

Time to clean up NCAA…..let the monopolistic NFL incubate their own thugs…

Army – Navy is the only real college ball game. I will take it over all the rest of Div 1

I am not a mathmetician, but I do not think Sweeney coaches for the money. He made plenty of it in the nfl. He and Gattusso are great friends. I think it would be a real good hire for the OL and for WPIAL recruiting if we could get him as it brings immediate legitimacy to the coaching position.

Big B, to clarify something. For years I have been hearing that Pitt fans state that Pitt has no separate admission standards for athletes and regular students; that Pitt’s athletes have to meet the regular academic minimums.

That isn’t true.

The NCAA has their own minimum academic standards for athletes and they are lower than almost every schools regular student’s requirements.

“For Division I student-athletes who will enroll in August 1, 2016 and later, the requirements to compete in the first year will change. In addition to the above standards, students must:

Earn at least a 2.3 grade-point average in core courses.
Meet an increased sliding-scale standard (for example, an SAT score of 820 requires a 2.5 high school core course GPA)

Successfully complete 10 of the 16 total required core courses before the start of their seventh semester in high school. Seven of the 10 courses must be successfully completed in English, math and science.
Students that earn at least a 2.0 GPA but not a 2.3 GPA and meet the current sliding scale standard (for example, an SAT score of 1,010 requires a 2.025 high school core course GPA) will be eligible for practice in the first term and athletically related financial aid the entire year, but not competition. Freshmen who are academically successful in the first term will earn the ability to continue to practice for the remainder of the year.

Division III colleges and universities set their own admission standards. The NCAA does not set initial eligibility requirements in Division III.”

So, Pitt fans would like to think Pitt holds our athletes to harder requirements than other schools but that isn’t true. Those NCAA standards listed above are way below Pitt’s normal ones. Obviously a 2.0 GPA with a 1010 on the SAT doesn’t get you into Pitt on a normal basis.

As far as “thugs” go… You are correct, look no further than DW for a Pitt coach who recruited them as mercenary football players. I think it is funny that fans who continually criticize Paul Chryst for not winning more (not you) overlook the fact that he was mandated by the Admin to purge the roster of all the bad apples he inherited.

That’s why we saw 36 players dumped off the roster in his first two years. Of course that set them team back but that was an order from the top of the university through SP.

Thirty-six purged? Seems like a high number. If you think all or most were thugs then you have your own agenda that will never be changed. I bet a kid like Eric Williams was a better student than you were back in your day.

The MSU probe will get so big and will include even the janitors employed at MSU. I’m not sure if Narduzzi would be hired by Pitt today had this inquiry occurred 4 years ago. “Guilt by Association” will be the theme going forward to any and all involved or not involved in this scandal.

I think you are correct and my worry is that opinion might become retroactive if the football cover-up turns out to be as systematic and bad as they appear to be. Now the Michigan Attorney General has begun it’s investigation and you know the Feds may jump in soon also. Those guys leave no stone unturned.

What bothers me so much with all of this is the effort and, I believe, even money, that the schools put in to convince the victims not to press charges when they really should be doing the exact opposite and encouraging the victims to help punish the abusers.

Sooner or later, and maybe this is the scandal that does it, the NCAA is going to be dragged into it and held accountable also. Emmett was involved so far.

I truly think we are going to see real changes in college football over the next few decades between concussion issues and these abuse scandals.

I have to say that even though I went to every Pitt home game my whole young life until I was 22 I also went to as many Carnegie Tech (CMU) games as I could and enjoyed them just as much. Maybe even more sometimes.

If this sort of scandal happened at Pitt I’d be perfectly happy if Pitt dropped down to D2 and raised academic standards for the athletes.

The chance of Pitt dropping down is as likely as Pitt ever spending the resources to become elite. These crimes can happen in any culture where the heavy emphasis is on winning.

Pitt doesnt have that same culture. The pressure to win isnt as enormous from the fans, boosters or administration. You need to question how many of these schools got good so fast like Baylor…they cheat.

Its one thing that Pitt isnt competitive in the ACC. If it continues, I can see a boot out or Pitt seeking application the the MAC. That I think is the more likely scenario.

But Pitt dropping down a division would be a disservice to students and alumni. Would be a waste of money on facilities already built to be competitive in the toughest league.

There are scandals at every university that are covered up, people paid off. Its just the matter of the degree.

No reason why Pitt cant run a clean program that is competitive across all sports. No reason to think there is something hidden at Pitt. Start looking when a program suddenly becomes very good…thats when you might find something dirty.

To the contrary,, another way to look at it is that the Baylor scandal was much, much similar to the MSU mess than the PSU one was. Baylor also had a number of unreported, undisciplined FB players who were guilty of rape in the recent past.

HC Art Briles, the AD, the Prez & chancellor all were let loose …. yet, I believe all the assistant coaches are still unscathed, including Art Briles Jr who is still coaching. Coincidentally, the Baylor DC under Briles was ex-Pitt DC Phil Bennett who was Fraud’s DC this past season. I do not believe any of the Baylor assistants were implicated

I agree …. you never know what will be found out. Heck (and I don’t think this will happen) but there is a scenario where current MSU employee will throw former employees under a bus to preserve their current status. On the other hand, maybe the current OL coach at MSU will be prime for the picking at Pitt

Baylor actually had a player on their BB roster that committed murder while on the team.

Reed: I would be cured of PITT football if they ever dropped down to a lower class level. No matter how good your team would be, you would always be thinking you could beat the teams above you and never get the chance. See UCF last year…

It’s been said before on the POV but is his stern policies have something to do with the loose behavior at MSU? Is Narduzzi Sargent Shultz or FBI/CIA agent, Max Smart?

Heather might be the best person for Pitt at this crossroads given her compliance background. Granted she’s not a fundraiser or rainmaker that Pitt needs, she comes with little football experience but she did extend Narduzzi and I thought that was the right call, her marketing ideas are a bit amateurish and of course she is a woman. And this this new age, a woman is probably more atune to these issues.

Pitt has at least purged the football program of all the bad apples from the Wanny days. Narduzzi is a strict disciplinarian compared to previous coaches.

The pressure to win at Pitt on a scale of 1-10 is probably about a 6. Thats why the administration only does so much. Thats good and bad I guess. Cuts both ways.

Just trying to see things from a different perspective.

I do think if there is a strong push to become very competitive across all sports, there must be certain safeguards in place. To transform the culture but ignore the potential negative ramifications would be foolish.

Changing mindsets take time. I’m all for a greater emphasis on sports at the school but not at the price of scandal.

In Pitts history, every push towards excellence has created a more than equal push back at some point. Sports becomes too powerful. Starts grabbing too much attention. Scandals arise. Booster have too much influence. Then the purge.

No stability is ever created, no momentum achieved. It doesn’t have to work out this way.

Dokish is currently criticizing Lyke for not saying anything about Stallings. But what does he expect her to say ….. “Hey, I’m stuck with this guy because of the $10M buyout agreed to by my predecessor who hired him”

you are right
but i think the public has turned
look at attendance
Pitt is feeling it in the pocket books.
So either Pitt keeps KS another year and see the Pete at 20% capacity ($1M loss per game)
– difference between 12k at $100/fan and 2.4k at $80/fan
– I assumed a slightly higher avg ticket price at full capacity, same parking costs, slightly more money spent on concessions and merchandise
Or fires KS at the end of this year
The math says you can fire him and at least breakeven

i doubt we’ll see better than a 40% capacity next year. Thats still a $500k loss per game over 20 games equals your KS buyout money

That Pitt won’t make a greater commitment to sports has always been the most frustrating thing about being a Pitt Fan, but most of us also want a “clean” program we can be proud of. However, the nature of sports and life in general is that you will always have some bad apples, but it is what leadership does about them that makes a difference. Most of us were not happy about the Sports Illustrated issue. Some thought DW should have been given the chance to clean it up, some didn’t. In any case that started a series of bad decisions, complicated by meager budget and the years it takes to recover.

Is basketball a product of a low commitment and meager budget? Possibly if Jamie was given a larger purse to hire better recruiters, possibly if a larger salary was available for the new coach. Certainly now that it is obvious that Stallings will never get Pitt competitive again and we are possibly the worst P5 team.

This is why we have no OCS, now and forever.

But this is who we are, and probably who we will remain.

I will now be accused of having a losers mentality.

But hearkening back to glory days of Dorsett, Greene, Marino, Smith, Lane and Gore, and saying it should be done again, does not make it so.

Times have changed, and to reach the pinnacle requires total commitment, a giant purse, and in many cases the ability to look the other way or outright cheat.

Pitt will never accept the third requirement, and will come up short on the first two.

As a Pitt Fan, you can accept this, you can complain about it or you can give up. Unless you are a billionaire, you can’t change it.

Reed, thanks for responding to my post….A 2.0 GPA… I take issue with that… a person realistically couldn’t compete at Pitt with below average academic intelligence … what a dichotomy, our University wanting to be reknown for academic excellence and the entering student athletes who do not have the ability to compete academically. Wonder if our school accomadates these academically challenged athletes ( for lack of a better descriptive word) by developing courses that would keep them academically eligible to participate but credits rhat lead to no useful diploma once they graduate.
I have said many times on here the NFL should develop a minor league system within the USA. Colleges should have admission standards that are consistent across the board for all students- athletes included.

College ball is special but continues on a downward trend due to many factors. Enrolling students who cannot compete at the Universites baseline level required to graduate is just wrong and that can be corrected swiftly if all Div 1 act in unison and develop standards to admit student athlete admission standards that are equal to the general student population. Joe Namath wanted to go to Maryland but his SATs were too low- Alabama to the rescue.

The crap is hitting the fan. Maybe if enough leaders in administration and coaching lose there jobs or end up in jail because of the bad behavior of people who probably shouldn’t be enrolled in first place change will begin to occur. Maybe in time our gridiron hero’s earn advanced degrees in medicine, engineering, law, dentistry. Is that too much ask.

Nice Thoughts, but the money is too great. Do you think the one and done kids are interested in academics, yet they flow through Duke. Kentucky seems to have an all freshmen basketball team, nearly every year. The term “Dumb Jock” still applies to many, if they are really great athletes they have their pick of esteemed institutions of higher learning. Schools obviously create “tracks” that are designed to keep athletes eligible. UNC did it, without punishment. When is the last time you heard of a “superstar” athlete not getting admitted? At worst, they go to a “prep” school for a year.

College is hard, and it should be, a pretty high percentage of college freshman drop out every year, from every school. Athletes get tutors and watchdogs so they don’t go astray, but it does make you wonder.

When you look at the budgets of the large successful programs you understand why they look the other way. The alumni don’t care and it doesn’t seem to taint the institution when they are caught for very long, if at all.

Nothing wrong with brining in a kid and getting him through school due to his athlete service. It doesn’t jeapordize the school’s academic integrity or its ongoing research to further enhance the university. Winning in sports does increase enrollments as it has even been proven. Unitas was rejected from Pitt with a C- average yet how proud Pitt could be saying Unitas was a Panther alum. Would it had killed Pitt’s reputation accepting him and letting him play football in front of his mother? Does the NFL HOF mention he had a C- average in high school? No because no one cares bout that stuff.

Winning in athletics shows university competence while losing brings nothing but excuses from the fans finding excuses for why the school can’t win and it always traces back to taking pride in academics first. Alums take pride in athletics and rightfully so. If Stanford is committed to winning in sports then all schools should be. Pitt has always wanted to be the Stanford of the east, which I’m sure Stanford laughs at, but Pitt falls far behind the Cardinal in the two main men’s sports and that is unacceptable.

Pitt alums should be embarrassed with how Nordy handled sports entering this decade and the gross incompetence by the athletic department is nothing to be proud of as a fan or alum.

What has Pitt done so special in research since 1989 that it was worth destroying football just when college football was about to take off in 1990 with ABC/ESPN doubling down? Talk about a missed opportunity to enhance the product and Pitt had the perfect coach to recruit kids in Mike Gottfried.

As far as if the MSU scandal taints Narduzzi, I say doubtful, unless there is some kind of smoking gun, documentation that he signed off on the cover-up. In any case with the financial mess that is Pitt Basketball, Pitt cannot afford another costly dismissal. Narduzzi should be judged on his performance here and not where he was not in charge. Again, unless there was some provable criminal behavior.

I wonder what is going on with the FBI investigation of NCAA Basketball? It is obvious that it is not only the kids that are the criminals in the NCAA.

Hey Ike if you are still reading this morning get on the Pitt News a great article on what you and I were talking about the growth of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section. Sometimes I think folks forget it is the Univesity of Pittsburgh and it’s not just about sports but the growth of everything. I am sure when this latest s…storm in sports hits it will change everything ; no more business as usual Reed you are right all sports will be different looking in 10 years who knows maybe Pittsburgh wanting to do the right thing puts us ahead of the pack.tim

At the very least, the ncaa should not allow any convicted felon to participate in any sanctioned sporting event.
The NFL should also adhere to this requirement.
The Heisman and other collegiate awards, likewise.

That Narduzzi knew of the allegations would be logical. I was told by a former OL great who played at ped state that everyone knew of it even if they did not witness it or make decisions. Coaches spend 18 hours a day with each other, to not know of the allegations is almost impossible byt it does not implicate them in the decisions, of course they can move elsewhere. Ar this point i suspect that is nard’s biggest failing but only time will tell. Msu as to fb is more like baylor but as to pedophiles coverup is like ped state. What a school, and the msu trustee referring to it as ‘that nassar matter’. Barvo bradley was implicated in direct knowledge which he admitted under oath though publically stated otherwise.
No d2 even though Reed longs for Pitt v CMU and Fordam games, ah the good old days of racoon coats. Lol
Amazingly the ncaa has done nothing to give itself enforcement powers since sandusky.
I said earlier and agree with iek that nards Ming the Merciless approach to discipline may have been a result of the slippery slope that starts when yoy tolerate misconduct. Who knows but hats off to nard and Chryst prior for clamping down.

I for one feel that you are guilty if you know that something wrong is going on if you don’t report you are just bad as the a..hat doing the wrong thing. That has been the cry of the Pittsburgh fan since day one of the of the pu scandal. If anyone there coach player or even the janitor knew of any abuse you tell someone if they don’t tell somebody you go to the news and let them investigate.tim

To my knowledge the only person providing any testimony unfavorable to was McQuery. McQuery claimed Bradley told him about Schiano having witnessed Sandusky abusing a boy. Bradley and Schiano both denied the claim. No word on whether Bradley or Schiano ever reported anything

Thinking about it, HCPN’s hires have been unanticipated. I, therefore, doubt the current, circulating list is accurate.
That said, i dont know how we overlook an NFL long-term player with Pitt ties who is already a coach.

Football and basketball will probably become minor leagues for the pros. Only about 40 schools can afford that or would want it. Many state schools in rural towns will love being semi-pro.

The rest of us are now on a more level playing field. Its not as big of an arms race. Fewer incentives to cheat. Less chance of scandal. These will be your true student athletes. Same standards as regular student body.

The NCAA has allowed greed to impact the culture at these schools. They’ve turned a blind eye to scandal. They are both complicit.

Pitt might be ahead of the curve when looking back. Pitt’s fear of becoming successful in sports might have helped avoid major scandal.

But you can still be successful without sacrificing your integrity and morals. Success in sports can do very good things for a school. Pitt is still trying to learn and is definitely afraid about getting out of the kiddie pool.

I also don’t understand the vitriol directed at Stallings.
Runs a clean program. Well respected by his peers, etc.
None of us know the talent he cut loose last year (aside for Cam, none ended up anywhere noteworthy). And, he’s forced to play a bunch of unknown’s this year, because talent ain’t flocking to Oakland, sad to say.
And the fact he yells at players…hey, they are men and this isn’t a church league.

The real devil was Herman, who allowed the winningest hoops coach to bolt without holding him accountable for his full buyout. Then, he employed a search firm that smacked of cronyism, only to hire a coach nobody else liked.

Now, I doubt Stallings will succeed, but he’s all we got and probably will have because of an enormous buyout orchestrated by Corvallis Herman.

the issues with Stallings, aside from the shady hiring, is (1) that he has character flaws which are well documented, and (2) his teams these last 2 season have seemed to get worse as the year has gone on … not better

I think playing all these freshmen it is natural that they will hit a wall and regress. The offseason is when they’ll make strides. I agree with Gasman, Stallings runs a clean program and these kids had a high GPA in the fall. He gets one more year to show he is the right coach for this school.

You have patience and understanding of the mess that KS walked into
But, many do not think (not know) but think he is not the right coach for Pitt’s future. Based on what we’ve seen. I’ve drawn my own conclusion.
The hard math is attendance and his buyout
I’ve already presented numbers saying you can justify the buyout based on economics alone
I think its a no brainer for me
If I was Heather, I’d be making private calls through channels in search of my next coach.
Barnes is Gallaghers problem. Thats a fire-able offense in my book.

Anon — correct, Mark Emmert and his staff has no power of subpoena. His hands are tied purposely by the NCAA IMO Thus, if the local MSU police force didn’t bring charges, there may have been nothing he could have done.

Gasman — as I previously said, no credence to the list. These were just people with Pitt ties that had some OL experience. Both HCPN and Watson have a long network of ties due to their coaching background … and previous ties to Pitt likely don’t mean much

Mr Anonymous, you talking about the Pitt master plan article? The Bates street plan is coming up against opposition from the local residents and the always unhelpful city government. The plan is called The Oakland Gateway Ventures. Sounds like a must do to me but it seems like the old cry of, don’t fix up my neighborhood in my neighborhood kind of deal.

The Stallings ship is sailing. Probably not until one more a year passes, however, since we are the only power 5 school without a win in conference, if we lose them all that may embarrass the powers that be. And the 1500 fans in attendance.

Ike yes sir my comments were about the master plan,the Bate Street plan I think is still very much on the list last week when I was in town I was in a meeting and some folks were talking about that. I think as long as no one brings up eminent domain [thats a dirty name in Pittsburgh] the talks go on quickly.You and your wife feeling better ? Hey Reed how about you your cough clearing up ? You and I need to touch base alittle on the grades I know your absoutely right about getting in but once they are there I think they get held to a higher standard am I wrong on that thank you sir. tmc

In order for me to keep my sanity? I can only hope Heather finds a way to bring in a new BB coach next year.

Losing Narduzzi may spell doomsday for the PITT football program.

Dan, Disagree with the freshmen BB players. They aren’t close to what they can be.

Gasman, you keep making sense you just may end up being compared to me. 🙂

Huff and all, it’s frustrating for me to read my favorite PITT blog and read all the disparaging remarks. It’s too close to a losers mentality for me which I guess is my problem. I do have to admit though, I do enjoy breaking up the pity party sometimes. It’s the devil in me that just has to get out….

Other than being true freshmen? Where’s the basis for saying that a young player can’t improve? << I think logic would say that is wrong. In my experiences there hasn’t been many examples when a player doesn’t improve through their careers.

Gc brings up a good point.
“The alumni don’t care and it doesn’t seem to taint the institution when they are caught for very long, if at all.”

Alabama had to forfeit nearly the entirety of 3 seasons in the mid 2000s (2005, 2006, & 2007) for all of their cheating. Sure didn’t slow them down, nor their national perception.

In 2005, they went 10-2. Once caught, they had to forfeit 10 wins, to be officially documented as having went 0-2 that year. Yet the perception remains that they were really good and won 10 games.
Point is, the ncaa and the media do nothing that changes perception of a school as long as they can continue to generate revenue for them.

PittFan28 to some point your right but the NCAA took the wins away but after the way they handled SMU they are gun shy they should have come out and said hey you cheat the system in any way your done for 5 years all sports then you come back and will see where you stand as for the media it’s their job to report the story not make judgments that up to us as the fan to do.

I hate to say it but I’m pretty much hoping that Pitt loses the rest of the way to insure a coaching change. For those who cry out against instability , what would we be “stabilizing”, next year we win 3 conference games (progress?). Hey, maybe by the time the contract is up we can get to a .500 record in the ACC. I have nothing against KS, but the program is regressing with no sign of hope after year 2. I believe TX Panther showed that the money is probably a wash given the lost revenue in ticket sales, merch, parking , etc. What hope does any Panther fan have if this is allowed to continue. To those that sat no one else would come here, that is BS. Barnes was lazy and the fix was in. Pitt needs to decide how they want to go, established coach needing a change (Crean, J. Thompson Jr, etc) or a young up and comer after a win in the Big Dance and get it done. Now is the time to get in the ACC. Petino is already gone, and Coaches K, Boheim, Larranega, and Williams aren’t going to coach forever, and like Pitt, Kevin Ollie shows that there is no guarantee when a winning team makes their next hire. Heather, you are on the clock. Sorry about the rant, but I do feel better…..

The only problem is that you can’t assume the fans come back no matter who they hire. It will still take time. So when you factor in a payout of 10 mil, you still don’t know when revenue will return to reasonable levels. I see us suffering through 1 or 2 more years with Stallings. The justification will be that a coach needs more than 2 years to prove himself, and the 10 mil. Almost guaranteed that they lose out.

even if KS is kept, you only lose $500K per game as opposed to $1M. Assuming Pitt doubles capacity from this year – 20% to 40%. But thats still $10M per year. And KS has already had 2 years to prove himself.

Moreover, the intangible damage will be further exacerbated. Another year where the brand suffers incalculable damage. That impacts things off the court in terms of applicants, merchandise sales, donations to athletics. It also hurts your chances at getting a decent coach.

Its a mess now but could be the same mess next year. I dont see NIT next year. Maybe 2-3 ACC wins. Pitt is used to winning the conference (we are spoiled from the Big East) or at least finishing in the top third with a chance to beat any of these elite cheater teams.

Right now we’re not just bottom of the ACC but bottom of all P-5 teams

If you know KS is not the future of Pitt basketball, why allow him another year.

Get someone young, energetic, upbeat and motivational. Someone that like to press the flesh and help fundraise since Heather’s skills are lacking in this area. Someone that will engage with the Zoo. And then pony up the money to find some good assistants and recruiters for him.

You’ll bite the bullet in year 1 but you’ll begin seeing the payoff in year 2 and more importantly you are setting the program up to compete at the highest levels. The Pete will be a Palace again instead of a crypt.

He questions his players ability and effort through the media. He frequently fails to clearly take personal accountability for poor results. He lashes out at players on the court. He heckles opposing fans (new in 2018).

I hope that helps. If not just Google “Kevin Stallings behavior” or “Kevin Stallings accountability”. That should help you to become informed.

No it won’t Ike – look, he just had the worse season a Pitt HC has had in 10 years… next season may be just as bad also.

He isn’t the ‘savior’ of Pitt football any more than any other coach was. He’s just another in a long string of Pitt coaches good, bad and indifferent.

Would you say the same thing if he took another job over this offseason?

As far as disparaging remarks on here- what do you think a losing FB season, with no bowl game and two horrific BB seasons in a row make people think of… sweetness and light?

My God -BB is 5-24 over two seasons with zero ACC wins this season. This is as bad as it has ever been at Pitt for BB since 1999… and even that year they had a better conference record of 5-11.

The worse season in 10 years for football and then bracketed by the worse seasons in 19 years for BB… no wonder Pitt fans don’t share the same views you have. It doesn’t mean they love Pitt more or less than you do – it just means they don’t wear blue and gold blinders like you tend to.

Reed, if Narduzzi is implicated in the mess at MSU, it isn’t anything like him leaving for a better opportunity. PITT doesn’t have the luxury to overcome scandal like psu and Bama did. Hell when those two schools were up against it the big time donors emptied their pockets to resurrect their football programs. You think that will happen at PITT?

My comment was more about the situation PITT would be and not anything to do with Narduzzi. Now who’s playing jr psychologist?

Perhaps we just need a translation because most any objective, reasonably thoughtful person would have taken this “Losing Narduzzi may spell doomsday for the PITT football program.” to mean that Pitt would be SOL without Narduzzi.

Going back to the subject of academic requirements for athletes, one thing I think the schools should do is give athletes course-credits for playing on a varsity team. Maybe give them 4 credits for the term that their season falls in. Count it as one of their “electives” in their major.

I know when I played baseball at Pitt, it took at least 3 hours out of my day for practices and workouts, and on top of that you had the trips. I had to work that into my engineering curriculum, and I’m sure the time commitment is more now in the various sports.

I think these student-athletes learn a lot by just being on the team, and that, and the amount of time they spend in preparation, should be recognized. If you’ve played on a team, you know what I mean.

Anyway, by giving the athletes some “credits” for playing, the athlete would have more time to spend on other courses and maybe could do a better job – or they could just audit another course if they were so inclined…

Currently watching a 6’10” RS Freshman for Richmond with 22 points (including 2-3 from the arc) in an A10 Conference game. Kid is averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg for the season. Pitt has 3 guys (2 FR and 1 SO) whose combined stats can’t touch the point average and are slightly better than the rebound average.

PITTSBURGH—Rande Stottlemyer, whose name is synonymous with the rich history of wrestling at the University of Pittsburgh, passed away today, his family announced. Stottlemyer was 62.

Stottlemyer’s association with Pitt wrestling spanned nearly four decades. He was a three-time All-American for the Panthers from 1974-78. Following his 1978 graduation from the university, Stottlemyer served Pitt as an assistant coach for one year before taking over as head coach in 1979.

He led the Panthers for 34 seasons and retired in 2013 as the winningest coach in program history with a 304-231-12 record. Stottlemyer produced 56 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) individual champions, 33 All-Americans and three national champions. He also was selected the EWL Coach of the Year five times.

Stottlemyer truly retired at the top of his game. His final four years as Pitt’s head coach ranked among the program’s finest. During that span, the Panthers won three EWL regular-season championships (2010, 2011, 2012) and three EWL Tournament titles (2011, 2012, 2013). Pitt placed 15th in the nation in each of his final two seasons as head coach.

First-year Pitt head wrestling coach Keith Gavin competed under Stottlemyer from 2004-08. Gavin crowned his collegiate career with a perfect 33-0 record as a senior when he claimed the 174-pound NCAA championship.

“Coach Stottlemyer gave me an opportunity of a lifetime by bringing me to Pitt,” Gavin said. “He never gave up on me when a lot of other coaches probably would have and for that I am forever grateful. His impact goes beyond teaching wrestling. I find myself still using his sayings not only with our student-athletes but with my own kids as well. He was known for his integrity and how he treated people. He was truly one of the best people I ever knew.”

A native of nearby Hermitage, Pa., Stottlemyer was a star wrestler at Hickory High School, where he was a PIAA state runner-up and two-time Junior National Freestyle wrestling champion.

Enrolling at Pitt in 1974, Stottlemyer compiled a career record of 68-16-2 and would ascend to team captain for the Panthers. He earned three All-America citations and won the 1976 EWL 134-pound title.

Stottlemyer’s many Hall of Fame recognitions include selection to the EWL Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award.

Visitation will be this Thursday and Friday, from 2 to 8 p.m., at Ferguson Funeral Home in Belle Vernon, Pa. There will be an additional visitation on Saturday, from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. Celebration of Life Service, at The Bible Chapel, 300 Gallery Drive, in McMurray, Pa.

c’mon Reed and Barvo …. if Narduzzi is fired, then his replacement will make the 6th different HC that Pitt will have had in this decade alone. (and I’m not including interims). If you don’t think that is a detriment to a program, in a more than few ways then I don’t what else I can say to you

according to your standards, guys like Frank Beamer (at VT), Don Nehlen (WVU) , Holgerson (who won only 4 games in his 3rd year at WVU), and Kelly at ND would have been axed.

and how about Wannstedt? He was fired after 27 wins in his last 3 years; and the firing was applauded by columnists Cook (PG) and Starkey (then at Trib) as well as bloggers Rich and Dokish, … and that was way before any of them knew of SI article. On the other hand, the national columnists scratched their heads have a much more objective view of Pitt FB than the alleged ‘realists’ here on this site.

I think it is funny how hoodwinked some of us are because Narduzzi is supposedly Blue Collar and from Youngstown. So in 3rd year he wins 5 games. What if he only wins 5 games again? What excuses will we make for him then?

Never understood it… like I mentioned earlier- if enough administrators , boards members and coaches lives adversely affected or ruined by the indiscretions of players who lack apprpriote human interaction and behavior skills
then maybe there will be an impetus for positive change in NCAA Div 1 football. Until then the airways will bring us Alabama and OH How I Hate Ohio State 24/7.

Would love to see one of the POV researchers do an article on Div 1 criminal violations and what disclinary actions were involved. Would make a great read which could be sold to a major news company…. money could be used for our OCS fund

Narduzzi is the type of coach considered as an up and comer in college football whether any of you want to believe it or not. You know, the type of coach some are yearning for, for the PITT basketball program. Some will never be happy.

Right BigB, I heard stories that some in house knowledge was embellished and leaked to that rag.

A true realist would never say a freshman couln’t improve. They would simply say that they would have to wait. A true realist is not a fortune teller.

Speaking of some that will never be happy. Thomas Tull sold his $85 million estate in Cali to move to Pittsburgh and is a smaller owner of the Steelers with plans on becoming larger owner. Fact is he loves the city. I’ll trust my resources and let some others bash the guy. I know better… iek.. H2P!

Speaking of social skill I will revert back to Kairos . They group purchased a house – a 1/2 way House. We have men who continue to minister to the men . Jobs are found, they are taught how to care for the environment, grow a garden and how to treat others especially females- things all on here take for granted.

Good thing Lyke comes a winner like Ohio State as she won’t fire Narduzzi due to this investigation. Some of you want info to come out with hopes Narduzzi gets fired so you can wake up feeling clean while you’re sinners yourself.

Narduzzi associated with MSU will come under some scrutiny as the DC. But he had zero to do with the athletic department decision makers. I am sure as a matter of course he had info that impacted his side of the ball as to potential suspensions and dismissals. But that was after the fact as he had no say in the decision making. But it is such a coming quagmire, no one will look good for anyone involved with the athletic program.

Just for clarity, I don’t do twitter and never have or have I ever had a membership to the Latrobe Elks club. I did golf there a few times and went there to see Corbin/Hanner one night. Night clubbing is not my speed. Also Salam is one of my suspects.

PITT, hopefully will end the recruiting season with more than one 4*???

This anonymous stuff is funny. Let me take your reasoning one step further. “Many want to tie in Narduzzi…..why, so we can get worse?”. Must be a BoT member comment. Look here jackwagon, we can’t get much worse.

An AD with backbone does not ACCEPT what is happening to her program. She fires Stallings, stat. The buyout is just that and worth it. We are a laughingstock. ONLY P5 team without a conference victory = fired. A freshman in the business school could have achieved the same results for free.

So is next year’s 4 acc victories give anybody the warm and fuzzies? Winners, win.

Stated differently, where would you rank Kevin Stallings out of the top 325 bball programs coaches?

Stated differently, where would you place Pat Narduzzi? We know Pitt hinks he is around 65 of the 130 coaches because that is how they pay him. So why expect better than # 65 results? Thats absurd and it’s not an excuse.

Go down the list by sport. Tell me when you find one of our coaches earning top 20 pay in their profession.

Go down the list of AD’s. I am thinking ours is paid in the bottom half. Expect bottom half results.

Was any of that disparaging? I think not. Unless you are a board member, chancellor or AD. Shame on you.

I really didn’t know more than one person on this POV blog a few years ago so I have to ask out-loud.

Was there anyone complaining about Jamie Dixon four or five years ago? Any complaints directed at the football program? I’m betting the answer is yes and yes.

Point being, why must the sky always be falling? 2 eight win regular seasons and one 5 win season and good night nurse, everything sucks. I get the BB indigestion and all but if we can’t see the incredible youth of this team and realize, it’s just not an excuse. This is reality. It’s realism. They are ridiculously young. Time will heal these wounds, I’m sure of it.

Now I’m onto Reeds new article and some real PITT football talk…. cause Reed has the two deep all messed up. Ricky Town will beat out Pickett…. ?? 🙂

I can honestly tell you that people used to gripe relentlessly about Dixon’s micromanaging, his “slogball” style, his reluctance to play underclassmen, his unwarranted favoritism for certain players, and his poor recruiting on Pitt Blather. When #1 seed Pitt was bounced by eventual NCAA tournament runner-up Butler in the 2011 tournament, many were hoping that he would be lured away from Pitt and complained about his most recent extension. I’ll give you one guess about the POV identity of one of those people….

Given that, you have a fairly good case for where I believe you are headed.

FWIW, I defended Dixon almost constantly because his results largely warranted my support. The only time I clearly recall coming down on Dixon was his last game at Pitt when he went away from his Feburary-March ACC conference rotation and elected not to play Ryan Luther. I believe that decision cost Pitt that game and may have set everything into motion. I also remember writing a time or two that I hoped Dixon would adopt a pressing/running style because I felt that some of his ACC teams were deeper and struggled to produce offense in the half court.

BTW, Pitt women lost again today. Now 1-8 and in last place in the ACC.

Lastrow..if I remember correctly the “aqualung” Jethro Tull crowd was quite different than my “Sugar sugar” Archies gang. We were still drinking beers and watching Sesame Street (no $h-t) at the frat house… the Aqualung frat brothers were usually shut in one of their bedrooms with a strange aroma coming from under the door.

Read a headline in the PG where a Pitt frat was suspended for alcohol(don’t know which one)- imagine that….I swear there is a conspiracy to eliminate Greek organizations on campus…I will leave it at that….Greeks played a “spirited ” role during the Majors I and Sherrill years.